COSTA Blanca is a 200 kilometer long stretch of Mediterranean coastline in Spain. It encompasses several coastal but urbane Spanish cities like Benidorm and Torrevieja and in between, there are numerous beaches, even nudist ones which are havens of both gays and British retirees alike. Now that’s a peculiar combination indeed. But gays are the strong proponents of naturism in Spain (which is conservative on the mainstream by the way) and the beaches are their instant gratification. But one can’t be hurt either if he or she is straight and want to hit those nudist beaches right away. Just don’t do those long stares otherwise you’ll look ludicrous. And the British retirees? Well, they’re here for a reason – the warm temperature of the place for Costa Blanca means sunshine coast in Spanish. And sunshine indeed it is for temperatures rise here as high as 22 degrees Celsius during summer.

That’s something out of the tropics already. Even British citizens who have not retired make a living here by purchasing summer retreat villas by the shore where tourists can lease whenever they’re not around. That’s because it’s perfectly legal to buy a piece of real estate in Spain even though one is a foreigner. Another reason to celebrate being in Costa Blanca is the freshness of its seafood there. One can just wander to the various fishing ports along Costa Blanca and queue in line, waiting for the fishermen’s catch of the day to arrive. Once you’ve got your own sustenance for the day, you can then grill your fish in whatever way you want.

Torrevieja is a resort city in Costa Blanca’s rear. Aside from the Mediterranean, another feature in Torrevieja is its salty lakes, numbering two of them. Combined, the salt lake produces a mind-boggling half a million tons of salt every year. The salt lakes are said to have therapeutic effects and this accounts for the hundreds of thousands who come here every year even when it is not summer. Of course, it doesn’t get frozen during winter because the temperature here is not that cold during that season – only at 15 degrees Celsius. So unlike anywhere else in Costa Blanca where only the British dominate the tourist population, Torrevieja has tourists from as far as Asia and the Americas although most of the concentrations are Germans and Scandinavians.

Even Spaniards from other cities have maintained a holiday retreat in Torrevieja, enchanted by its rejuvenating offer. And that in exchange for a minimal amount of investment – maintaining the salt lakes. It’s a natural spa for all of us. This is why lots of private entrepreneurs are maintaining varieties of health centers around the two salt lakes in Torrevieja. So when you go to Torrevieja, there are also man-made spas in business there – offering facials, reflexology, aromatherapy, body scrub, body wrap, Swedish massage, shiatsu massage, etc. The city of Torrevieja itself has a rich history. It is called as such in ode to the tower which was built there by the Spanish military in the 17th century.